ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Three years after her son and his passenger died in a small plane crash near Eagle River, a mother is advocating for changes in aviation safety policies.
According to the final National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigative report, on July 26, 2021, 23-year-old Dakota Bauder, an Angel Aviation flight instructor, took off from Merrill Field Airport with 27-year-old McKenna Vierra from Hawaii for a two-hour “discovery flight.”
The report states that as the plane flew north towards Palmer and then turned towards Knik Glacier, it crashed into steep terrain near Eagle River, killing both Bauder and Vierra.
“When the plane, a Cessna 172P, did not return to Merrill Field, a concerned family member used a tracking app and saw the plane had stopped moving in the Eagle River Valley. They then alerted authorities,” the report said.
Dakota’s mother, Patricia Bauder, recalled, “I was at home in Sitka when I heard. I thought his radio was out and he was fine. But then I got the call that he didn’t make it, and I was devastated.”
The NTSB report found no mechanical problems with the plane. However, it did find that the emergency locator transmitter (ELT) failed to send a signal, delaying the search and rescue operation.
“Angel Aviation had a faulty ELT that should have sent out a beacon upon impact,” Patricia said.
The NTSB discovered that the FAA had warned months before the crash that the plane’s ELT model had faulty parts and should be replaced. Angel Aviation’s records indicated the gear was swapped, but the faulty model was still in the aircraft.
The NTSB also found that Dakota’s smartwatch showed his heart was still beating hours after the crash. “Data from Dakota’s Apple Watch showed his heart was beating for two hours after impact,” Patricia said, suggesting an earlier search might have saved him.
However, investigators noted that the accuracy of the smartwatch data was uncertain and that the crash’s severity might have rendered an earlier rescue ineffective.
Patricia Bauder is urging Angel Aviation to implement new safety protocols, including:
- New hire orientation with a syllabus and checklist for pilots
- Flight plan acceptance system for every flight
- Live monitored tracking of every flight
- Instrument flight rules (IFR) in all aircraft for poor visibility
- Prompt notification to search and rescue if a flight is overdue
“If you run a flight school, you should be tracking your flights live and ensuring your pilots are well-trained and familiar with the area,” Patricia said.
Alaska’s News Source reached out to Angel Aviation for comment, but they have not responded as of this publication.